Duterte to Reds: Allow COVID-19 vaccines transport freely, safely

President Rodrigo Duterte on Monday night asked the Communist Party of the Philippines to allow the free and safe transport of COVID-19 vaccines particularly in areas where they have a degree of influence.

“I am appealing to the Communist Party of the Philippines, ‘yong pinaka-umbrella. I don’t consider ‘yong mga NDF pati mga NPA, the CPP must guarantee that the vaccines in the course of their being transported to areas where there are no city health officers or medical persons na ‘wag ninyo galawin ang medisina,” Duterte said in his weekly public address.

“Allow the vaccines to be transported freely and safely. I am asking you now to observe that rule because that is for the Filipino people,” he added.

Duterte exhorted the group to “observe the rules of humanity.”

“As I have said, the money belongs to the Filipino people. The credit goes to no one. Sa inyo ‘tong mga Pilipino. Pera ninyo ito so natural lang na kayong mga members ng CPP and the allied NPA, NDF, or whatever, kindly observe the rules of humanity,” the chief executive said.

“It is abhorrent but you can redeem it by just seeing to it that there’s a fair atmosphere or environment in the places where you are at nandiyan ang mga taga gobyerno,” Duterte added.

The Philippines is looking to start COVID-19 vaccinations of frontline healthcare workers next Monday, February 15, as the government aims to inoculate the sector's 1.4 million individuals in a month.

The incoming initial batch of vaccines from Pfizer-BioNTech totaling 117,000 doses will cover workers included in the initial master list from hospitals across the country that will receive the first batch.

"Inaasahan nating magsisimula na tayo sa akinse... Sa katunayan, 'yung mga medical frontliner, kumpleto na po ang mga pangalan nila," according to a Sunday "24 Oras Weekend" report.

Among the first hospitals that will receive the vaccines are the Philippine General Hospital with 5,000 workers listed, along with the Dr. Jose N. Rodriguez Memorial Hospital, and the East Avenue Medical Center.

The World Health Organization said that 117,000 doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine will arrive in the country in the second or third week of February, under the COVAX Facility. 

Earlier, Malacañang said the three priority groups for COVID-19 vaccination are frontline workers in health facilities, senior citizens and persons with comorbidities.

The country aims to vaccinate some 50 to 70 million Filipinos from COVID-19 this year, with the country allocating some P73.2 billion for the procurement. The amount includes P40 billion coming from multilateral agencies, P20 billion from domestic sources, and P13.2 billion from bilateral agreements.-NB, GMA News